Revolution recycles its 3 millionth pound of MN ag plastic waste

Revolution Plastics just collected its 3 millionth pound of used Minnesota farm plastics for recycling, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said Tuesday.

The haul is a milestone celebrated by state officials who tried for years to find a way to recycle farmers' crop-covers and fedbags into a new, usable products.

Enter Arkansas-based Revolution. It distributed 1,450 collection dumpsters to Minnesota farmers this summer. Finally, miles of used agricultural plastic-sheeting are being collected by Revolution and recycled into new trash bags, bale wraps and crop covers. The new use is a victory and a much better option than seeing the materials getting buried or burned as has been the custom on many Minnesota farms, said MPCA Recycling Market Coordinator Wayne Gjerde in an interview Tuesday.

If the state gets its way, the ag recycling program will eventually expand, from 30 counties to 87, Gjerde said.